High visibility ammunition casings

ABSTRACT

Ammunition casings are described that include a base, a body coupled to the base, and one or more patterns on the body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Design patent application No.29/370,642, filed Aug. 14, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,056, filed Oct. 8, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,057, filed Oct. 8, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,058, filed Oct. 8, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,059, filed Oct. 8, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,060, filed Oct. 8, 2010; U.S. Design patent application No.29/372,061, filed Oct. 8, 2010; the contents of which are incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ammunition casing for recreationalguns. It is particularly useful for shotgun shell casings that areeasier to locate under the methods described in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Hunting is a common recreational activity, especially in rural areas.Modern guns eject the spent shells from the rifle or pistol, oftenautomatically or with a minimal effort by the hunter, e.g., pumpshotgun. Often, in the excitement of the hunt or while pursuing woundedor fallen game, the exact location of the spent shell casing isdifficult to determine. This presents a number of problems. In the caseof common brass cartridges, the brass decomposes very slowly and maycontain other residual pollutants such as lead. Shotgun shells are ofteneven more difficult to recover and pose a particular problem forlivestock, in addition to the problems with residual pollutants. Spent,conventional shotgun shells are hard to see in the camouflage of naturalhunting grounds. Even if colored, these shotgun shells are difficult todetect by hunters. If left unrecovered, the shotgun shells become ahazard for livestock, especially cattle because the animals ingest theshell. The shotgun shells and other spent ammunition is a nuisance forlandowners and harmful to the environment. This problem leads to fewerlandowners who are willing to permit hunting on their property, with aconcomitant loss of areas for hunters to hunt in. There is a long feltneed to make location of these spent cartridges more efficient. Whilemost of the drawings depict shotgun shells, it should be appreciatedthat the invention also contemplates the shells of other types of guns:recovering such items reduces pollution and increases the ease ofrecovery for such activities as reloading.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of embodiments of the invention and are incorporated inand constitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferredembodiments of the invention and together with the detailed descriptionserve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1D show an exemplary shotgun shell with straight parallelstripes.

FIGS. 2A-2D show an exemplary shotgun shell with a dotted or spottedpattern.

FIGS. 3A-3D show an exemplary shotgun shell with a check board pattern.

FIGS. 4A-4D show an exemplary shotgun shell with spiral stripes.

FIGS. 5A-5D show an exemplary shotgun shell with a highly reflective orluminescent body.

FIGS. 6A-6D show an exemplary shotgun shell with an end differentlycolored than a main body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention provide hunters with an easilyrecoverable spent ammunition casing, especially the shotgun hull, thuspromoting stewardship of the land as well as setting a positive examplefor the future generations of hunters. Embodiments of the presentinvention may include shotgun shells made with highly visible patternsand/or colors that allow for easy pick-up in the field and subsequentdisposal. The invention also contemplates using reflection as well asglow in the dark plastic. Such types of plastic can be used alone orwith the highly visible patterns and/or colors.

Various types of materials and processes may be used to create theammunition casings of the present invention. For example, extrusion andco-extrusion may be used where the desired properties are found in theplastic pellets used in the extrusion process.

In certain embodiments, a coating may be applied inline to a continuoustubing formed by extrusion, prior to cutting and secondary operations.Thus, inefficient and labor-intensive steps associated with preparingindividual tubes for coating may be avoided. The method may includeforcing a flowable material through an exit port of an extruder,depositing a coating onto at least a portion of the continuous length ofextruded tubing after the tubing is forced through the exit port,cutting the coated tubing to a desired length after depositing thecoating, and performing one or more secondary operations on the coatedtube such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,914,841, which is incorporatedby reference. More than one material may be co-extruded at a time tocreate various high-visibility patterns as described herein.

Apparatus for extruding plastic tubes, such as in shotgun shells, arewell known in the art. The tubes may be substantially rigid,semi-flexible, or flexible, as desired. A spiral or helical tape orfilament may be extruded, simultaneously with a plastic tube, wherebythe resulting final product comprises a reinforcing helical skeleton,and an integral tube covering. The spiral or helical tape or filament isrotated as it is extruded, whereby the filament may be close together orrelatively spacially separated, during extrusion, as for example, in themanufacture of a flexible hose. The diameter of the finished product canbe readily varied, by simply adjusting the size of the extrusion collarin a method as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,628, which isincorporated by reference. By using differing streams of plastic,straight or spiral patterns can easily be manufactured for incorporationinto the brass or metal end of shotgun shells. Other easily visiblepatterns in addition to those set forth in the figures are contemplated.Any pattern that is more easily visible than the solid pattern iscontemplated. Naturally, shells could be manufactured that were designedto be most visible under specific conditions that would change with thevegetation, season, or soil coloration.

The ammunition casings may also be painted, dyed or colored with ink,paint or other coloring substances based on properties of the coloringsubstance. Photoluminescent pigment and luminescent powder are availablefor various purposes. Plastic tubing, pellets and other raw materialsmay be available in various colors, including fluorescent, glow in thedark, luminescent, striped, etc. Reflective materials may include mirroror retroreflective materials, such as reflective beads or prisms.

FIGS. 1A-1D show an exemplary shotgun shell 101 with straight parallelstripes on a body 103. The body 103 may be made of plastic or a similarmaterial. One or more dark stripes 105 may be alternated or otherwisepaired with one or more lighter stripes 107 to improve visibility. Oneor more of the stripes 105, 107 may be fluorescent, reflective,glow-in-the-dark, luminescent or simply colored. Preferably, the stripes105, 107 are highly contrasting. The stripes 105, 107 may be of variousshapes, sizes and proportions. The stripes 105, 107 may be molded with adesired optical characteristic or may be painted or otherwise treated tocreate the desired optical characteristic. A base 109 may be made ofbrass, steel or other suitable materials. A twelve gauge shotgun shellis shown, but all gauges of shotgun shells may be used as well as othershell types.

FIGS. 2A-2D show an exemplary shotgun shell 201 with a dotted or spottedpattern on a body 203. The body 203 may be made of plastic or a similarmaterial. One or more dark dots or spots 205 may be regularly orrandomly placed on a lighter background 207 to improve visibility. Oneor more of the dots or spots or background 205, 207 may be fluorescent,reflective, glow-in-the-dark, luminescent or simply colored. Preferably,the dots or spots and background 205, 207 are highly contrasting. Thedots or spots 205 may be of various shapes, sizes and proportions. Thedots or spots or background 205, 207 may be molded with a desiredoptical characteristic or may be painted or otherwise treated to createthe desired optical characteristic. A base 209 may be made of brass,steel or other suitable materials. A twelve gauge shotgun shell isshown, but all gauges of shotgun shells may be used as well as othershell types.

FIGS. 3A-3D show an exemplary shotgun shell 301 with a check boardpattern on a body 303. The body 303 may be made of plastic or a similarmaterial. One or more areas 305 may be alternated with one or morelighter areas 307 to improve visibility. One or more of the areas 305,307 may be fluorescent, reflective, glow-in-the-dark, luminescent orsimply colored. Preferably, the areas 305, 307 are highly contrasting.The stripes 305, 307 may be of various shapes, sizes and proportions.The areas 305, 307 may be molded with a desired optical characteristicor may be painted or otherwise treated to create the desired opticalcharacteristic. A base 309 may be made of brass, steel or other suitablematerials. A twelve gauge shotgun shell is shown, but all gauges ofshotgun shells may be used as well as other shell types.

FIGS. 4A-4D show an exemplary shotgun shell 401 with spiral stripes on abody 403. The body 403 may be made of plastic or a similar material. Oneor more dark stripes 405 may be alternated or otherwise paired with oneor more lighter stripes 407 to improve visibility. One or more of thestripes 405, 407 may be fluorescent, reflective, glow-in-the-dark,luminescent or simply colored. Preferably, the stripes 405, 407 arehighly contrasting. The stripes 405, 407 may be of various shapes, sizesand proportions. The stripes 405, 407 may be molded with a desiredoptical characteristic or may be painted or otherwise treated to createthe desired optical characteristic. A base 409 may be made of brass,steel or other suitable materials. A twelve gauge shotgun shell isshown, but all gauges of shotgun shells may be used as well as othershell types.

FIGS. 5A-5D show an exemplary shotgun shell 501 with a highly reflectiveor luminescent on a body 503. The body 503 may be made of plastic or asimilar material. The body 503 may have one or more areas 505 that arehighly reflective or luminescent to improve visibility. The one or moreareas 505 may be fluorescent, reflective, glow-in-the-dark, luminescentor simply colored. The one or more areas 505 may be molded with adesired optical characteristic or may be painted or otherwise treated tocreate the desired optical characteristic. A base 509 may be made ofbrass, steel or other suitable materials. A twelve gauge shotgun shellis shown, but all gauges of shotgun shells may be used as well as othershell types.

FIGS. 6A-6D show an exemplary shotgun shell 601 with an end 605differently colored than a main body 607. The body 603 and/or end 605may be made of plastic or a similar material. The end 605 may becolored, highly reflective, luminescent, or glow-in-the-dark to improvevisibility. Preferably, the end 605 and the main body 607 are highlycontrasting. The end 605 and/or the main body 607 may be molded with adesired optical characteristic or may be painted or otherwise treated tocreate the desired optical characteristic. A base 609 may be made ofbrass, steel or other suitable materials. A twelve gauge shotgun shellis shown, but all gauges of shotgun shells may be used as well as othershell types.

When the shotgun shell casing is plastic, it can be extrusion molded. Inaddition to the colorants, coating may be applied to provide additionaladvantages or functionality, for example, a coating may increase thelubricity if the surface of the shell to permit easier loading orejection.

Colorants and coatings can be applied by any method known in the art,including injection of different plastics during the molding process.

In preferred embodiments, the one or more patterns on the ammunitioncasing are not a trademark. For example, the one or more patterns arenot a source identifying mark for the ammunition casings, such as adesign, color, etc.

Although the foregoing description is directed to the preferredembodiments of the invention, it is noted that other variations andmodifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and may bemade without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.Moreover, features described in connection with one embodiment of theinvention may be used in conjunction with other embodiments, even if notexplicitly stated above.

1. An ammunition casing apparatus for increasing visibility of theapparatus, the apparatus comprising: a base; a body coupled to the base;and one or more two-dimensional patterns on the body.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the one or more patterns is one or more verticalstripes.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more patternsis one or more dots or spots.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theone or more patterns is one or more spiral stripes.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more patterns is a reflective pattern. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more patterns is aluminescent pattern.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore patterns is a glow-in-the-dark pattern.
 8. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the one or more patterns is an end differently colored thanthe body.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more patternsis not a trademark.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore patterns comprise one or more colors.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the one or more patterns are created by extruding orco-extruding the one or more patterns in plastic.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more patterns are created by painting, dyingor coloring with ink, paint or other coloring substances, andcombinations thereof.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore patterns are created by injecting a plurality of plastics duringthe molding process.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one ormore patterns are created by photoluminescent pigment or luminescentpowder.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more patternsare created by reflective beads or prisms.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the apparatus is a loaded ammunition casing.